This invention relates to a heater to be used for warming of roasting thick cut pieces or masses of foodstuffs such as bread, ham, sausage and meat.
Heretofore, it has been the simplest, widespread practice to heat foodstuffs by keeping the foodstuffs on an iron plate or metal net supported on an electric hot plate or gas hot plate.
By heating with such a hot plate, however, it is difficult for a foodstuff to be evenly heated throughout its whole interior because the hot plate, by nature, applies heat substantially to the surface of the foodstuff, particularly the surface thereof looking toward the heat emitter of the hot plate. Use of the hot plate, accordingly, entails the disadvantage that thorough diffusion of heat in the foodstuff requires prolonged exposure of the food stuff to the heat and such prolonged exposure will possibly cause the foodstuff to be excessively browned on the surface frequently to the extent of being deprived of its characteristic flavor. Particularly, rolls of bread which are exclusively used for hot dogs and hamburgers are supplied as half baked and they are reheated immediately before insertion therein of cooked sausages and hamburger steaks. When these rolls are reheated with the hot plate which causes surface heating as described above, the heat does not easily penetrate and diffuse into the half-baked interior of the rolls, with the result that the rolls tend to sustain excessively browned surfaces which impair the appearance of the prepared food. When meat is heated with the hot plate, it tends to be roasted to hardness only in the surface portion or the juice retained therein tends to ooze out leaving behind flesh tissue destitute of the characteristic flavor of meat before the heat is sufficiently diffused evenly in the interior of the meat.
Recently gas ovens and electric ranges have found widespread utility in various applications. They, however, have the disadvantage that they are too large too expensive to be readily used for household applications, store sale activities, etc. Particularly in store sales such as of hot dogs and hamburgers, if bread and other items can be warmed, roasted or otherwise thermally treated in front of customers, such heating is advantageous in respect that it additionally produces demonstrative effects and advertising effects. These effects can hardly be attained by use of gas ovens and electric ranges.